The increasing complications of technology

CaliS said:
I go with auto-pay on some things, and online bill pay thru my bank with the rest. I rarely pay a bill on their website.
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It was a big step for me paying anything online or by phone, but I do it. I don't have bill paying set up with my bank. I may get there some day; not yet.
 
Nathan said:
QR codes usually lead to some sort of advertising and are seldom actually helpful...IMO.
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and... they are easy for scammers to cover up! They have them at all the public parking now, where I live - and I am always as careful as I can be about using them. I don't have a choice :(
 
A long time ago (around 2010) I bought my sister who lives 500 miles away a Macbook pro. She is not computer savvy, she thinks Firefox is the operating system and is afraid to click on anything else. Fast forward to today. I setup and sent her a Macbook Air to replace her failing laptop. When she tried to log onto Hotmail (in Firefox of course) it wanted to verify her login and asked for her recovery email address to send a code to. She had no idea what it was asking for. When I tried logging on it turned out her recovery email was my wife's email at work, which she retired from in 2015.

Talking to my sister I wondered why it hadn't asked for this recovery email before this. Turns out she hadn't logged out, rebooted or updated her computer in almost 15 years! Try that with Windows. Firefox was set to update itself which probably kept things working. I think Hotmail didn't recognize her new computer so asked for verification. Fortunately my wife's workplace lets retirees keep their email and we were able to get her logged in and get a code. Not sure what a hassle that could have turned into without that recovery email. I know with Gmail there is near zero support for free email accounts. Not sure if Microsoft is the same.
 
The Smartphone Volume Strategy. Forget tapping and swiping gently; smart devices demand intense physical effort.
Old dodderers like me, press the touchscreen with enough mechanical force to shatter a walnut, fully convinced that, how hard you press, dictates how well the internet works.

Sometimes my printer takes on a life of it's own, inanimate objects do that. If the printer jams or says "PC LOAD LETTER," it is immediately unplugged, taken outside, and yelled at, often with a string of profanities. It doesn't do any good of course, but the stress release makes me feel a lot better. Back in my day, a tweet was something a bird did, and an app was an appetizer you ordered before a nice ribeye at the local pub!

I miss the days when a cookie was called a biscuit and came with chocolate chips. When a virus meant you stayed in bed for three days and all you could manage for food was a bowl of soup. I'll tell you what, if we had one of those electrical explosion things and the power went down, all those young cell-phone addicts with their heads buried in their phones would be sitting in the corner with their thumbs in their mouths, entirely helpless! I’m sticking to my landline. If you need me, you call the house phone. If I'm not in, leave a message on the machine, and speak slowly!
 
For the first few months that I had my iPhone 11 and wanted to set the alarm, since I saw "radio buttons" I thought I had to "slide" them left right for on/off. It was next to impossible and I almost threw the thing in the trash can. Then I learned I could just touch them and they moved left/right! 😄 I will keep my iPhone 11 until it dies. I don't need anymore technology.

And don't get me started on texting. That takes me forever.

Radio buttons.png
 
MACKTEXAS said:
Tried to pay my WIFI provider online. After entering password to my account with them, it says they first need to send a code to my email. So, I tried logging into email, but can't do that until my email provider texts a code to my phone, which is required to complete the email login. So, I got the text, entered the code, and was logged into email.

So then I went to look in email for the code the WIFI provider said they emailed, but there is no code from WIFI provider. Instead, there is a link to log into my account with them: "click here to open." I clicked, and got a new window with a login screen, which I don't need, since I already have a window with their login screen open, as I'm still waiting for a code to finish logging in.

Called WIFI provider to explain the run around, and he said I could just give him my payment by phone for "only a $10 fee." I said no, I will not pay $10 when it's your company's fault for not sending the code. Thanked him, and hung up.

Then, went back to WIFI account. Screen says, "We sent you a code, enter the code." No, they did not send it. Then I scrolled down and saw this: "Did you get the code we sent you? If not, click here to get another code." Clicked that, then went back to email; finally got a code then entered it, and completed my payment.

All the above took around 25 minutes. In pre-technology days, it would have taken me under 5 minutes to write a check, put it in a stamped envelope, then I could just drop it in the mail slot the next time I drive by the post office.
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I've had that happen to me. It's such a nuisance.
 
bobcat said:
I have gone through things like this before, and it can take three or so tries to get the code. It can be so frustrating. When it comes to things like regular monthly billing things like a WiFi provider. I just put it on automatic payment so I don't have to deal with it. They always let me know by email when it's about to bill, and the amount, so if it sounds right, I don't have to do anything. If the amount seems wrong, I can review the charges before it goes through.
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If it works for you it's good but I don't trust auto payments.
 
That Lady in PA said:
That is a great thing about apple products...they communicate with each other.
If I get a code on my iPhone, it pops up automatically on my iMac.
Makes things very easy.

I only have two bills pulled... cell phone and mortgage.
Everything else I choose to push instead. I like have the control.
Everything is done through my bank's Bill Pay.
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I pay bills through my bank's Bill Pay too now.
 
outlander said:
If businesses and financial institutions want to do all their business online, they should not push the security on us. You do not get the option of paying by invoice/mail anymore, so the inherent security issues of doing it online or through a specified app should be their responsibility.

I am giving them my valuable business, that should pay all their security expenses. I don't see them giving me a discount or kickback for jumping through hoops for a 2 or 3 step authentication.

I don't use a smartphone and they insist on using a text based verification. It is difficult to navigate around that. Luckily I have a smartphone that I use for work only, so I've had to turn it on a few times.

I'm not going to work much longer and that smartphone will be going in the trash where it belongs.

If I am then unable to verify something, then I will not use their service. Yeah, that's right, I will cut off my nose to spite my face;)

I will not conform to crap that I disagree with, period.

Damn, getting all riled up just talking about it:mad:
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Good for you Outlander. Give 'em hell!
 
outlander said:
I may be a bit paranoid, but there is no way in hell I'm ever gonna use a smartphone for banking, paying bills, or shopping.
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You are not paranoid, it's a term deliberately used by those with an agenda to have us all online.
outlander said:
Data transmitted via cellular radio waves can never be secure by it's very nature. Of course the industry would have you believe it is completely safe;)
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When told that it's perfectly safe, despite my technology ignorance, I do know that it takes an expert to create a progam that is supposedly secure. What's to stop that prorammer from selling his expertise to those with a more dubious agenda?

The pervasive integration of technology into modern life marks a shift from mere tool usage to a system of continuous, ambient surveillance and behaviour. Far beyond physical gadgets, technology now acts as a ubiquitous Big Brother, quietly restructuring daily existence, thought patterns, and autonomy.
The way that we are tracked and profiled is as insidious as if we all carried a cctv camera around with us. That credit card, debit card, loyalty card, are all accumulating our spending habits. Every digital trace is harvested to construct predictive behaviour and then sold on, all without our knowledge or consent.
 
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My regular car is in the shop, so I’m driving a Kia K5 rental for a few days. I actually had to go online and use AI just to figure out how to work the radio and make a few other basic adjustments. There’s this touch panel on the dashboard that controls the heat and A/C, and, as it turns out, it also controls the radio and everything else. The catch is that there’s a tiny, triangle‑shaped touch button that switches the panel between climate controls and media controls (radio, Bluetooth, Sirius, etc.). It’s not intuitive at all, and the instructions never mentioned it. I only found it by accident.

I really miss the days when cars had actual buttons and switches. This setup is downright distracting, and half the time you have to pull over just to change something. :mad:
 
Rich said:
My regular car is in the shop, so I’m driving a Kia K5 rental for a few days. I actually had to go online and use AI just to figure out how to work the radio and make a few other basic adjustments. There’s this touch panel on the dashboard that controls the heat and A/C, and, as it turns out, it also controls the radio and everything else. The catch is that there’s a tiny, triangle‑shaped touch button that switches the panel between climate controls and media controls (radio, Bluetooth, Sirius, etc.). It’s not intuitive at all, and the instructions never mentioned it. I only found it by accident.

I really miss the days when cars had actual buttons and switches. This setup is downright distracting, and half the time you have to pull over just to change something. :mad:
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I reallly really hope my car out lives me.
 
Rich said:
I really miss the days when cars had actual buttons and switches. This setup is downright distracting, and half the time you have to pull over just to change something. :mad:
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poole23.jpg
My car has lots of those buttons and switches. It even has indicators
that were, at the time, known as trafficators.
trafficator2.jpg
IrishEyes said:
I reallly really hope my car out lives me.
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My car came off the production line back in 1947, chances are it will outlive me.
 
Rich said:
Nice, what is it?
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It's an MG known as The Y-Type. What I wanted was one of those MG sports cars that you often see in WW2 movies.

mgtd2.jpg

My wife wasn't against the idea of a heritage car but she did point out that open top cars with all the airborne pollen and traffic dust is best avoided, when, like my lady, you are asthmatic. Point taken. The Y-Type is a hard top version of those sports cars. we have much fun dressing up in period styles of the era and stepping out of the car looking like we have stepped off a film set.
 
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